Jurists slam coalition for denying High Court authority to strike down Basic Laws

A group of 140 jurists castigates Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition for stating that the High Court of Justice does not have the authority to strike down quasi-constitutional Basic Laws.

The Israeli Law Professors’ Forum for Democracy argues that by claiming the top court cannot intervene in the legislative process, the ruling coalition was seeking to become “a single branch of government” with no form of oversight limiting what it can do.

Heralding a potential constitutional crisis, the High Court has set hearings before expanded panels of justices to discuss the legality of two highly controversial pieces of legislation passed by the current government, both amendments to Basic Laws that critics say go against Israel’s democratic foundations.

In their statement, the jurists — including senior lecturers in academic institutions — argue that, contrary to what the coalition has claimed, the court has the power to evaluate the merits of Basic Laws, since the process of legislating them is similar to the process of regular laws.

“Therefore, the meaning of the coalition heads’ declaration is that the coalition majority can immunize any action from judicial review by giving it a headline of ‘Basic Law,’” says the statement, reported by Channel 12 news.

“Without a constitution and without self-restraint, the coalition is seeking to serve as a single branch of government, elevated above all the rest: a constituent assembly, a legislative branch, an executive branch and now also a judicial branch,” it continues.